A new star is born in Rome? Perhaps it’s early to say, but 18-year-old Cristian Volpato surely took the Serie A by storm on Monday night as he helped Roma overcome Verona 3-1 at the Marc’Antonio Bentegodi Stadium.
The Italian-Australian starlet scored one goal and provided one assist to save the day for José Mourinho in a game that Roma were struggling to turn in their favor despite playing with a one-man advantage for more than one hour.
Coincidentally, this was not the first Serie A goal scored by Volpato as the young Italian-Australian had already found the back of the net in February in another top-flight match-up right against the Scaligeri.
Verona, on the other hand, collected their seventh loss in a row but put together a brave performance that was basically frustrated by Pawel Dawidowicz’s early sendoff. The Polish defender received his marching orders for a vicious foul on Nicoló Zaniolo just a few minutes after giving the Scaligeri an unexpected lead.
Zaniolo himself leveled thing up just before the break but Roma had a hard time in the second half to overcome Salvatore Bocchetti’s well-organized Gialloblu. But Mourinho had his ace in the hole in the person of youth product Volpato, who had just debuted for the Giallorossi this season last Thursday in a Europa League game.
Volpato scored the second for Roma with just a few minutes to go, before serving Stephan El Shaarawy an assist that got the job done for the visitors. The Giallorossi thus overtook city rivals Lazio in the Serie A table and can look forward at the upcoming Derby della Capitale with confidence.
Relive the match at the Marc’Antonio Bentegodi Stadium with our updates below:
FULL TIME: Verona vs Roma 1-3
94 minutes – Verona leave the pitch with their heads held high as Sulemana calls Rui Patricio to action with a tricky shot
92 minutes – GOAL Roma! Volpato also turns provider, serving El Shaarawy a brilliant filtering pass that the Faraone turns into the Giallorossi‘s third – Verona vs Roma 1-3
88 minutes – GOAL Roma! Eighteen-year-old Cristian Volpato pulls the chestnuts out of the fire for the Giallorossi! The Italian-Australian prodigy receives the ball from Matic and drives it past Montipó with a clinical left-foot strike – Verona vs Roma 1-2
82 minutes – …and Mourinho plays his last card as Eldor Shomurodov is sent in for Mady Camara. The Portuguese coach goes all in! Bocchetti, on the other hand, throws Ibrahim Sulemana in the mix, pulling out Martin Hongla
81 minutes – Third post hit by Roma! Montipó deflects into corner a Lorenzo Pellegrini free-kick. From the subsequent set piece, Matic’s header crashes against the crossbar!
78 minutes – New change for Verona as Milan Djuric replaces Henry
72 minutes – Belotti’s new shot forces a diving save from Montipó
68 minutes – Bocchetti answers immediately by sending in defender Giangiacomo Magnani for Miguel Veloso
66 minutes – Yet another change for Roma as Nemanja Matic replaces Gianluca Mancini
65 minutes – Belotti’s first shot gives no reason for concern to the Gialloblu goalkeeper
60 minutes – Despite the one-man advantage, Roma are struggling to create new scoring chances as Verona keep defending themselves with composure…
57 minutes – Mourinho changes again! It’s time for Andrea Belotti and the young talent Cristian Volpato. They replace Zaniolo and Nicola Zalewski.
Half-Time Substitutions: Verona’s Salvatore Bocchetti sends in Kevin Lasagna for Kallon and Isak Hien for Federico Ceccherini at the back, while José Mourinho brings Stephan El Shaarawy in, substituting Bryan Cristante.
HALF TIME: Verona vs Roma 1-1 – A vibrant first-half at the Marc’Antonio Bentegodi ends with one goal for each side. The Scaligeri took the lead with a Dawidowicz strike, but the goalscorer himslef received a direct red card for a foul on Zaniolo. The Roma young talent drew level for the Giallorossi just before the break.
46+2 minutes – GOAL Roma! – An Adrian Tameze mistake offers Camara the chance to trigger Roma’s fast break. Abraham hits the post again but Zaniolo is quick to pounce on the rebound, making it 1-1 – Verona vs Roma 1-1
35 minutes – Red card for Verona! – Goal scorer Dawidowicz comes up with a clumsy tackle on Zaniolo. Referee Juan Luca Sacchi checks the VAR then decides to show the Verona player his marching orders.
27 minutes – GOAL Verona! – Pawel Dawidowicz put the Scaligeri ahead! From a corner kick, Faraoni’s shot from outside of the box found Dawidowicz deflection that caught Rui Patricio by surprise at the far post – Verona vs Roma 1-0
20 minutes – Abraham again! Rick Karsdorp sends in a cross from the right side, the former Chelsea man’s diving header bounces above the crossbar…
18 minutes – Roma suddenly wake-up! There was a brilliant filtering pass from Zaniolo to Abraham, but the Englishman hit the post after dashing past Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipó
16 minutes – Verona keep pushing more than the Giallorossi. Kallon’s long-rage shot gets deflected by Smalling but Rui Patricio easily blocks it.
7 minutes – The first chance is for Verona! Davide Faraoni sends the ball in for Kallon, whose cutting pass in the middle of the box is missed by Henry.
Verona Lineup – The Scaligeri‘s new coach Salvatore Bocchetti lost Simone Verdi due to an injury. He will line up his side in a 3-4-1-2 fashion where Thomas Henry and Yayah Kallon will spearhead the attack:
(3-4-1-2): Montipó; Ceccherini, Gunter, Dawidowicz; Depaoli, Veloso, Hongla, Faraoni; Tameze; Henry, Kallon
Roma Lineup – Mourinho will answer with his usual setup featuring Lorenzo Pellegrini behind Nicoló Zaniolo and Tammy Abraham upfront. Mady Camara was confirmed in the midfield:
(3-4-1-2): Rui Patricio; Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Cristante, Camara, Zalewski; Pellegrini; Zaniolo, Abraham
MATCH SCORECARD
October 31, 2022 – Serie A 2022-2023 Round 11
VERONA – ROMA 1-3
SCORERS: 27′ Dawidowics (V), 45’+2′ Zaniolo (R), 88′ Volpato (R), 92′ El Shaarawy (R)
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VERONA (3-4-2-1): Montipò; Davidowicz, Gunter, Ceccherini (46′ Hein); Faraoni, Veloso (68′ Magnani), Tameze, Depaoli; Hongla (86′ Sulemana), Kallon (46′ Lasagna); Henry (78′ Djuric) (Chiesa, Perilli, Berardi, Terracciano, Cabal, Praszelik) Coach: Bocchetti |
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ROMA (3-4-2-1): Rui Patricio; Mancini (65′ Matic), Smalling, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Cristante (46′ El Shaarawy), Camara (84′ Shomurodov), Zalewski (57′ Volpato); Pellegrini Zaniolo (57′ Belotti); Abraham (Svilar, Boer, Kumbulla, Tripi, Vina, Celik, Bove) Coach: Mourinho |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Ceccherini, Hongla, Hien (V), Cristante (R); Added Time: 1st Half 3′, 2nd Half 5′
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